Analytic vs. Synthetic?

K. T.   Sat Apr 12, 2008 10:21 pm GMT
That's interesting. I don't have a method, but I rarely go for grammar first. I usually "pre-learn" languages that I plan to study in the next one or two years by listening to their sounds in a very relaxing way. That's my lazy approach, but it works for me. A lot just sinks in before I start the real "work".

I learn tourist phrases right away while I work on mastering the new script (if there is one), then I try to find the most interesting course available on the cheap or at the library and get to work. Often I'll use two or three courses at the same time. I usually won't learn a language unless I know someone who speaks the language, so I will ask for help or do mini language exchanges.
Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:01 am GMT
Are analytic languages always easier (more intuitive?) to learn than synthetic ones? Do speakers of synthetic languages learn other synthetic languages faster?
Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:45 am GMT
<<Are analytic languages always easier (more intuitive?) to learn than synthetic ones? >>

NO.

<<Do speakers of synthetic languages learn other synthetic languages faster?>

YES.
gladisimo   Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:48 am GMT
A purely synthetic language seems to be much harder because of the numerous conjugations used to change the expression of a root word. This makes the learning curve of a synthetic language MUCH steeper, but once that is mastered, the rest comes easily, provided there are no irregulars, etc.

A purely analytical language is much easier to pick up, but the nuances and placement of words to affect its meaning and its reliance on context means that the learning curve is gentler, but much, much longer.A language can have thousands of compound words that rely on the combination of other words in order to express an idea. .This makes for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of permutations that have different meanings, which, unlike synthetic languages, may not follow a fixed pattern.
Guest   Sun Apr 13, 2008 9:52 am GMT
I'd like to hear the opinion of someone whose native language is actually synthetic who has learnt a synthetic language and an analytic language. I don't want to hear the opinions of charlatans whose native language is Romance or English.
Rosamari   Sun Apr 13, 2008 2:05 pm GMT
"A purely synthetic language seems to be much harder because of the numerous conjugations used to change the expression of a root word. This makes the learning curve of a synthetic language MUCH steeper, but once that is mastered, the rest comes easily, provided there are no irregulars, etc.

A purely analytical language is much easier to pick up, but the nuances and placement of words to affect its meaning and its reliance on context means that the learning curve is gentler, but much, much longer.A language can have thousands of compound words that rely on the combination of other words in order to express an idea. .This makes for hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of permutations that have different meanings, which, unlike synthetic languages, may not follow a fixed pattern."

This makes sense to me.
Guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 6:54 am GMT
What are the most imprortant and typical analytical and synthetic languages?
Leeds   Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:27 am GMT
while synthetic languages are RICH in word forms,analytical languages are generally RICH in synonyms.
guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:25 am GMT
you mean RICH in homonyms? like tens of meanings for the same word form (see chinese)
guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:27 am GMT
in fact synthetic languages are RICH in synonyms, while analytical are poor
Guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:33 am GMT
Why are they called 'analytic' languages?
Guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:36 am GMT
Analytic languages are actually a lot harder to analyse, because you have no idea what this word is doing here or there and there is more ambiguity.
Xie   Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:15 am GMT
>>I'd like to hear the opinion of someone whose native language is actually synthetic who has learnt a synthetic language and an analytic language. I don't want to hear the opinions of charlatans whose native language is Romance or English.

Do I fit? If English is analytic and German synthetic, then I am.

I think, though, if our spectrum of languages is simply from synthetic to analytic, there's still not much inherent difficulty... synthetic languages would look clumsy in word forms (compare a/an and ein, eine, eines, einen, einem, einer and 一), while words of synthetic languages that look slim even with those forms could be very clumsy in analytic languages (compare polyglottery [where many typically inflected European languages have one-word translation] and 能/可以說多種/多國語言, polyglot and 能/可以說多種/多國語言的人.

I'd say it's just like how ethnically different people also look very different and how they ARE really different in terms of physical traits. I'm one of the very few Asians here, and you might well know what I mean: height, colours, weight (BMI), body proportions (like female waist-hip ratio), fat distribution, hairiness, face features...

The fat of analytic languages lies in all the morphemes that are hardly linked with each other graphically - but crucially related in terms of semantic meanings. The fat of synthetic languages lies in mainly morphological forms (inflections). But they're all the same. The hurdle still lies in your patience to understanding all kinds of discourse. As a patient person, you don't get turned off by case endings or those seemingly hardly related analytic morphemes. You don't analyze it. You just make sense of it.
Guest   Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:44 am GMT
<<Do I fit? If English is analytic and German synthetic, then I am. >>

I thought Chinese was analytic?
null   Mon Apr 14, 2008 2:01 pm GMT
>>>you mean RICH in homonyms? like tens of meanings for the same word form (see chinese) <<<

i think he means synonyms.

Chinese is extremely rich in synonyms because:

1.History:a language that is almost 5,000 years old,and possesses no rigorous grammatical rules to supervise the words.

2.Ideograms:the formation of words in Chinese is highly flexible.well,to what extent? -----as long as you make yourself understood. Last time i checked,there were 355 ways to represent the word 'death' in Chinese.

e.g.

Moon(月亮) in Chinese(68 ways)

婵娟 望舒 纤维 金波 玉弓 桂殿 团扇
玉桂 银台 五羊 夜光 清光 太清 蟾
蟾蜍 玉蟾 霜蟾 素蟾 冰蟾 银蟾 瑶蟾
蟾宫 皓蟾 金魄 圆蟾 金蟾 蟾魄 素魄
圆魄 冰魄 桂魄 瑶魄 玉盘 金盘 银盘
圆盘 广寒 霜盘 水晶盘 白玉盘 金镜 玉镜
圆镜 寒镜 秦镜 瑶镜 金轮 银轮 玉轮
圆轮 冰轮 霜轮 孤轮 斜轮 玉兔 玉钩
银钩 垂钩 悬钩 金兔 白兔 圆兔 蛾眉
悬弓 妲蛾 素娥 丹桂 广寒宫

Sun(太阳) in Chinese(122 ways)

日 乌 阳 炎 羲

一轮 九阳 三足 大明 飞鸟 飞金 飞辔 天阳 天晷 日车 日母 日头

日驭 日色 日阳 日轮 丹灵 乌阳 乌轮 乌焰 六龙 火伞 火轮 火精

火镜 东君 白日 白景 玄晖 老火 老阳 朱明 朱炎 朱羲 阳日 阳乌

阳婆 阳精 红轮 赤日 赤乌 赤龙 赤羽 赤轮 赤帜 赤鸦 赤萍 赤盖

旸乌 利眼 灵乌 规毁 金乌 金轮 金鸦 金钲 炎精 织乌 赵盾 赵衰

素日 热头 圆轮 翔阳 毁炎 赫熹 赫曦 踆乌 赪轮 羲驭 羲阳 羲轮

羲和 羲御 羲曜 曜灵 曦车 耀灵 

三足乌 太阳爷 太阳星 日头公 日头爷 日爷儿 丹砂毂 老爷儿 赵盾儿

圆光蔚 赪玉盘 濯耀罗 

三足老鸦 日头旸儿 紫金毕逋

3.Spoken by 1,400 million people